Firebrand Philippine president pushes the US to send the entire 7th Fleet into the South China Sea
By Ryan Pickrall From Business Insider Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dared the US on Monday to send the entire US 7th Fleet into the South China Sea to confront China if it really wants to drive Chinese forces from the…
Chinese President Xi Jinping gives army its first order of 2019: be ready for battle
By Mimi Lau From South China Morning Post Armed forces must be ready for a ‘comprehensive military struggle from a new starting point’, leader says Central Military Commission issues new guidelines to boost morale based on greater empathy and merit-based…
Will Donald Trump and Xi Jinping rekindle their ‘great chemistry’ at the G20 summit?
By Catherine Wong From South China Morning Post Issues such as the trade war may ultimately hinge on how well the Chinese and American leaders get on during their talks in Argentina this weekend The volatile US president has blown…
‘Prepare for war’, Xi Jinping tells military region that monitors South China Sea, Taiwan
By Kristin Huang From South China Morning Post China’s President Xi Jinping has ordered the military region responsible for monitoring the South China Sea and Taiwan to assess the situation it is facing and boost its capabilities so it can…
What happened to the billions China pledged the Philippines? Not what you think
BY ALVIN CAMBA From South China Morning Post Forget claims about duplicitous Beijing and the South China Sea. The delays in Chinese investment into the country are entirely predictable – and not evidence of something more sinister Here’s a quiz….
China makes inroads in Caribbean nations through aid, trade
A commentary by Dan Southerland From RFA In the United States, when we think of the Caribbean Sea, many of us think of beaches and wonderful music. The music and the beaches still thrive. But a new Caribbean is emerging,…
Trump moving toward hard line with China on North Korea crisis
From Newsmax Donald Trump is grappling with the limits of his strategy to rely on China to get North Korea to limit its nuclear and ICBM programs following Kim Jong Un’s July 4 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The…
China is tapping into a new source of energy from ‘flammable ice’
By Julia Hollingsworth, South China Morning Post From Business Insider China began collecting methane gas from methane hydrate – known as combustible ice – in waters near the Pearl River estuary last month. China joins the US, Canada and Japan,…
China: defense budget to rise by about 7% in 2017
By The Associated Press From Caribbean Business BEIJING — China will raise its defense budget by about 7 percent this year, a government spokeswoman said Saturday, continuing a trend of lowered growth amid a slowing economy despite regional tensions over…
‘S. China Sea is not Caribbean’: Chinese media slams ‘reckless’ US behavior in disputed waters
From RT Washington’s attempts to militarize the South China Sea and “tame the Chinese dragon” would see Beijing deploying weapons systems in the contested area, a state-run newspaper wrote in an op-ed addressed to the US military brass. The article…